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Veteran gifted new roof after loss, falling behind

The Record-Eagle - 4/1/2019

April 01-- Apr. 1--TRAVERSE CITY -- Bill Ruck looks forward to the day blooming rose bushes frame his blue-shuttered, freshly roofed home on Traverse City's outskirts.

They bring some comfort.

The blossoms paint his modest yard in 10 different colors each summer, chosen carefully and arranged thoughtfully by the U.S. Army veteran to center around a shrine of Relay for Life memorabilia, an American flag and garden lights.

Something to remember his late wife.

"She loved roses," Bill said quietly, a slight pause to each word. "Every day she was in the hospital she got roses. I'd give them to the nurses to keep them happy."

Marjorie died on Sept. 30, 2016, during her third battle with cancer. Bill, to grant his wife's dying wife, donated her body for cancer research.

He has no urn. No burial site to visit.

But he has the roses.

"We were married 48 years," Bill said. "It's rough, living alone."

It started small -- payments falling behind and minor repairs left uncompleted.

But the bills kept coming and the minor repairs became major ones.

"Things just kept piling up," Bill said.

Insurance was one of the first.

A felled tree and some damaged shingles brought a home insurance inspector out for a look at Bill's roof.

The visit ended in a policy cancellation, despite Bill's attempts to appeal. The retired 76-year-old said a quote to reinstate the policy totalled $8,000 per year.

"That's more money than I get from Social Security," he said.

Bill reached for help. Grand Traverse Commission on Aging staff directed him to the area's Habitat for Humanity, and he filed an application.

The veteran's story struck Kathleen English, of Habitat for Humanity Grand Traverse Region.

She and her colleagues set out to help. They discovered the Owens Corning National Roof Deployment Project -- specifically designed to help veterans replace aging roofs -- and reached out.

"They were very intrigued and interested and wanted to help," English said.

The project went from there.

Owens Corning, through the veteran-centric program, donated shingles and other materials, and asked partnered local contractor Story Roofing Company to provide labor.

It was an easy ask.

"Anytime we can help out in the community, that's what we want to do," said David Doyle, Story operations manager.

So, as the sun rose on a chilly March 28, workers tore away aged shingles and rolled out insulation.

Bill and English watched from the patchy grass of the front lawn, where a banner detailing the project now sits a few feet from Marjorie's handmade memorial.

"She helped bring this together, I'm sure," Doyle told Bill as they watched the men lay new shingles. "She's up there looking down at you."

It's the first roof the Owens Corning project has replaced in Grand Traverse County.

"It's all about the veterans -- it's all about giving back to those who've served our country," said Joel Pomeroy, of Owens Corning.

The Habitat for Humanity partnership, English added, made for the organization's first repair project of the season. Habitat helps struggling residents with repair projects and, through Grand Traverse, Leelanau and Kalkaska counties, builds homes for families in need. Partnerships make that easier.

"You can't always do it on your own," English said. "It's very helpful to find these resources so we can work together to serve veterans, serve homeowners -- just people in our community."

Bill's stint with the U.S. Army began on a birthday in the early 1960s. A letter waited for him.

"It said 'Greetings,'" he said with a laugh. "Where I worked you got your birthday off with pay. And I says, 'This isn't worth the pay.'"

He served from 1964 to 1966, partly spent as an analyst for the 8th Infantry Division Headquarters in Germany.

He left the ranks for a job at the Ford Motor Company, and after a time, Bill and Marjorie made the move north.

They settled at their home off West Silver Lake Road 24 years ago. Bill took a job at Thompson Surgical Instruments, and Marjorie, at a doctor's office.

The starter home was a temporary plan.

But plans, as they're wont to do, change.

It came with Marjorie's first diagnosis of lung cancer. Her medical bills put a "little crimp," Bill says, in their dream of finding another home.

Marjorie beat her sickness and for 10 years, life was good. And then it came back.

This time, in the other lung.

A brain tumor eventually stole her from him.

But Bill, as he watched the roofers work, wore a smile.

"It's a real pleasure -- it's nice to see people get together," Bill said. "Nowadays you don't see that.

"I just wish my wife was here."

___

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